Fruit dumplings - Czech specials

Category: Other
Style: Other
Special Consideration: Vegetarian
Servings: 4



Description:

If you conducted a survey to find the food people associate most fondly with childhood, fruit dumplings would surely finish near the top. Light and fluffy dough wrapped around hot fruit, sprinkled with grated farmer’s cheese and swimming in melted butter - a simply unforgettable experience…

Ingredients:

1/2 kg whole grain flour
1/2 kg fine flour
yeast
pinch of salt
450 ml lukewarm water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 egg
jam or fresh fruit (plums, apricots, strawberries, blueberries or any preserve)

Directions:

Add sugar to some lukewarm water, crumble in the yeast and leave to ferment. Pass the flour through a sieve into the mixture then break in the egg and add a pinch of salt. Knead into a dough, which you should leave to rise for at least half an hour in warm place. When the dough has risen, cut into pieces and wrap around the fruit (do this carefully so that there are no holes). Leave the dumplings to rise again then boil in a large pan of water for around 10–12 minutes. Finally take them out of the water and prick with a fork.

A good idea when serving these dumplings is to mix soft farmer’s cheese with some vanilla sugar, crystallised sugar and egg yolk. Pour this and melted butter over the dumplings for the best results.

Note: Instead of cottage cheese for sprinkling, poppy seeds can be used.